Communication networks provide an environment that allows information to be sent from a source device to a destination device. Typically, the information is not transmitted from the source device directly to the destination device. Instead, the information is typically transmitted to intermediate devices along a route from the source device to the destination device. Therefore, communication networks may include forwarding devices, such as routers, for determining the route to be taken by the information and/or forwarding the information from one location to another. The forwarding devices may forward the information from a source device to a further intermediate location (e.g., another forwarding device which is closer to the destination device), or may forward the information directly to the destination device.
The transmission of information in the communication network may be governed by a networking protocol that defines logic for determining (among other things) which paths are used for transmitting information in the network. The logic may make use, and specify the rules for creating, policies and routing tables that describe how to implement the paths. The networking protocol may describe how forwarding decisions are made, how information transmitted in the network should be formatted, and how information in the network should be addressed, among other possibilities. Conventional forwarding devices are programmed with the networking protocol so that the forwarding devices may properly route and format information traveling through the network.